The Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board says it has begun the compilation of list of retired civil servants who have defaulted on the full repayment of housing loans obtained.

Head of Information and Public Relations, FGSHLB, Mrs Ngozi Obiechina, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

Obiechina quoted the Executive Secretary of the Board, Mrs Salamatu Ahmed, as saying that the move was aimed at recovering mortgaged properties from retirees who failed to meet their loan obligations.

Ahmed noted that the decision followed a recent memo issued by Mrs Patience Oyekunle, Permanent Secretary, Career Management Office, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

According to her the memo reminded public servants of the mandatory requirement to obtain a Certificate of Non-Indebtedness to the FGSHLB and MDA Staff Multipurpose Cooperative Society as a precondition for retirement.

The executive secretary said that the board would take necessary legal steps to repossess properties where applicable, in line with the terms of the loan agreements.

She said this was in line with the provisions of the Public Service Rules 021002 (p), issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

”I am directed to bring to your attention the provision of Public Service Rule (PSR) 021002 (p), which mandates all public servants to obtain a Certificate of Non-Indebtedness as a prerequisite for retirement.”

“The Federal Government will commence the seizure of mortgaged properties belonging to retiring federal public servants who have failed to fully repay housing loans obtained from the board,” she said.

Ahmed explained that the FGSHLB reserves the legal right to repossess any mortgaged property in cases where a public servant exits service without fully repaying the loan.

She reiterated that the directive also applied to already retired officers who were still indebted.

She urged all affected public servants to regularise their loan status and obtain the required clearance certificate without delay.

“The board is currently compiling a list of such retirees, which will be forwarded to relevant regulatory agencies for debt recovery.

“The FGSHLB remains committed to enforcing compliance and ensuring proper loan recovery procedures are followed, ” she added.

NAN

President Bola Tinubu has issued marching order to security agencies to tackle insecurity within the country.

Tinubu, while ordering a complete overhaul of Nigeria’s security strategy, said “enough is enough.

”He issued the directive during a meeting with security chiefs on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja and was contained in a statement signed by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga.

There have been killings in Borno, Benue, Plateau and Kwara states.

However, the statement said the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu while addressing State House Correspondents after the meeting, said Tinubu directed a new approach to tackling insecurity across the country.

Ribadu said, “Mr President gave us the chance to come and brief him again. It lasted very long. We gave him an update on what was going on.

”He explained that while the President was on official visits to Paris and London, he remained actively involved and continued to issue instructions to security agencies.

“Today, we had the opportunity to come and brief him again, and it lasted hours. It was a very detailed briefing, and it was exhaustive.

“The issue of insecurity often is not just at the higher levels. It involves the subunits.

They are the ones who are directly with the people, especially when some of the challenges border on community problems.

“We need to work with the communities. We need to work with the local governments, and we need to work with the governors.

“The President directed that we work more with governors,” he said.

Ribadu noted that the President was “very worried and concerned” at the meeting.

“He said, ‘Enough is enough’. We are working to ensure that we restore peace and security.”

“We were all at the meeting with the President, armed forces, police, and intelligence community,” Ribadu added.

More than 20,000 people have gathered at the Vatican as mourners file past Pope Francis’s open coffin.

Pope Francis’s body has been moved from his residence in the Vatican to lie in state at St Peter’s Basilica.

Mourners are now filing past the coffin, which will stay in front of the Papal Altar during the three days of public mourning.

The Pope died on Monday morning – his funeral will take place on Saturday, attended by leaders from around the world.

Source : BBC